Software has been part of drug design for decades, but digital technologies are now finding use in the pharmaceutical industry in many more ways. Some of those applications were highlighted this week at INVEST PharmaTech, a virtual event hosted by MedCity News.

Drug discovery featured in some of the discussion, notably during a panel covering how artificial intelligence is used for drug discovery. Other sessions delved into the future of digital medicines, how Covid-19 changed clinical trials, and the ways that big pharma companies and digital startups can work together. Here are some highlights from the event.

Big pharma starts to embrace digital change

Big pharmaceutical companies are resistant to change by design, said Jessica Federer, partner at Boston Millenia Partners and the former chief digital officer at Bayer. Pharma companies advance a molecule from lab discovery to pills in  medicine cabinets over the span of 10 years, a process that requires stability, Federer explained. Conversely, startups thrive on change, which is necessary for their survival, she said.

Sharon Hanlon, head of clinical trial engagement & enrollment at Bristol Myers Squibb, acknowledged that big pharmaceutical companies are slow to change. But companies are more open to changing now, and Hanlon attributes that shift in part to Covid-19. Decentralized clinical trials and diversity efforts both rose during the pandemic, and each endeavor can learn from the other. That’s because they both share the goal of reaching more people and improving the ability to participate in clinical trials, Hanlon explained.

Pharma companies understand the promise of digital health, said Jim Parshall, senior director–connected health & devices external innovation at Eli Lilly. But the scope and the role of digital technologies varies from company to company. “Those with promising portfolios and pipelines may be the ones least interested in exploring digital health options,” he said. “The ones closer to dying are more apt to do it.”

Patients are the center of the digital shift

Josh Rose, vice president and global head of decentralized clinical trials at CVS Clinical Trials Services, pointed to the ways that industries such as consumer electronics and retail have found ways to make it easier for consumers to engage. Decentralized clinical testing technologies offer companies that run such trials to take a similar approach, Rose said.

“One thing that changed with decentralized clinical trials, we can really start elevating the way we think about patient first as a means to have clinical research,” he said.

Whatever the application, the technology needs to be usable, Rose said. Usability extends to the clinical trial site as well as the patient. Expect to see more combined products—drug and medical device hybrids. Pierre Laurent, Aptar Pharma’s president, digital health, said that these products will bring molecules, software and hardware under the same umbrella. Lana Ghanem, managing director of Hikma Ventures said she is interested in a small, transdermal patch that is to monitor blood glucose and other biomarkers. To be able to continuously monitor multiple biomarkers in a painless way would be revolutionary, she said.

“To me, this is the future,” Ghanem said. “We’re not too far away. We’re not too close either.”

Technology is paving the way for new kinds of personalized medicines, said Richard Law, chief business officer of Exscientia, a company that uses AI to discover and develop new drugs. AI is revealing who the best patients are for potential drugs. That capability can help address heterogeneity, meaning a single disease that has multiple causes that vary from patient to patient. If AI can help guide scientists toward the design of a drug for particular disease cause, the future should be one of a huge abundance of drugs, each of them targeted to the right patients, Law said.

Getting big pharma and startups on the same page

When evaluating potential partnerships with startups, Lilly’s Parshall said the Indianapolis-based drug giant looks for solid products or services that have supporting data and a clear regulatory pathway. Lilly also looks for cultural fit. In some cases, providers or payers might be more appropriate partner for a startup. But typically, Lilly’s partnerships stem from relationships, Parshall said.

Charles Fisher, founder and CEO of clinical trials technology startup Unlearn, said landing a partnership starts with connecting with the right person at a big pharma company. That person must be someone the startup gets along with and who shares the young company’s vision. More than simply championing a startup’s technology, Fisher said this person must also have enough stature in the company to influence decisions.

Finding the right connection at a big pharma company is a lot of trial and error, and while it may mean hearing “no” a lot, it’s also important for startups say it, Fisher said. He offered a story of a Girl Scout cookie-selling champ as example. Asked her secret for selling so many cookies, she said she only tries to sell to those who want them. The lesson is don’t sell what you don’t have. If a big pharma company asks for something that you can’t offer, say “no,” Fisher said.

“Being able to say ‘no’ is critical to finding the right people because someone will say ‘yes,’” said Fisher, whose startup landed a partnership with Merck KGaA earlier this year.

Photo: tonefotografia, Getty Images